This invention relates generally to a steering stabilizing apparatus for use on most types of motor vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a steering stabilizer which may be used on automobiles, motor homes, trucks, busses or tractor-trailers to provide better steering control by automatically returning the steering wheel to the neutral position after deflection due to a road hazard or a tire blowout.
Conventional steering stabilizer devices are represented by the following United States Letters Patent: U.S. Pat. No. 1,210,490 issued on Jan. 2, 1917 to John A. Kittle; U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,885 issued on Nov. 19, 1974 to Fred W. Hefren; U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,626 issued on July 22, 1980 to George B. Moore and U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,473 issued Sept. 27, 1983 to Tilman L. Sexton. Each of these conventional steering stabilizer devices employs two opposing equal strength biasing coil springs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,885 discloses an opposing coil spring arrangement exemplary of conventional steering stabilizer devices. In that patent there is disclosed an apparatus having a fixed plate member point, on an automobile axle, having an aperture through which a shaft member passes. The shaft member supports two coil springs which are retained at each end of the shaft member by a washer and nut-type arrangement. The two coil springs are retained in opposing fashion by the fixed plate member at the center of the shaft member. One end of the shaft member is operably attached in a freely rotatable fashion to a U-bolt plate which is, in turn, attached to the steering linkage located at one wheel of the automobile.
In operation, the conventional steering stabilizer devices increase steering wheel and tire stability by providing increased resistance to axial movement of the shaft member in either longitudinal direction by the compression action of the two opposing springs. These conventional devices, therefore, require that two springs be compressed in opposing fashion in order to provide stabilization. Over a period of time and due to wheel misalignment, a greater frequency of turns in one direction or a multitude of road hazards, one or both of the originally equally biased opposing compression springs will suffer a decreased compression ratio. Once the opposing compression springs become unequally biased or have unequal compression ratios, the ability of the device to stabilize the steering will decrease, the steering will become inaccurate and the vehicle may begin to stray or wander in the direction of the weaker spring thereby increasing the likelihood of a vehicular accident.
It has, therefore, been found desirable to develop a steering stabilizing device which does not rely upon equal biasing of opposing springs, and, accordingly, will not suffer from reduced stabilizing capacity due to time and wear. Further, it has been found desirable to develop a steering stabilizing device which incorporates bracketry enabling easy and rapid attachment of the device to a wide variety of vehicles so that each steerable wheel of the vehicle is neutrally biased in operation. Ideally, it is desirable to provide a steering stabilizing device which is capable of being attached to both single solid axle and independent axle steering systems and to vehicles having a sway bar or a tie rod.
The paramount advantage of the desirable steering stabilizing device lies in its inherent capacity for returning the steering wheel of any vehicle to the neutral position almost immediately after a turn, tire blow-out, road hazard or other steering deflection, and its immunity from the problems of unequal biasing encountered with conventional steering stabilizing devices due to time and wear.